F1 opener postponed due to Bahrain unrest

PROTESTS: The civil unrest in Bahrain has forced the decision

THE Bahrain Grand Prix, which was due to be the opening race of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship, has been postponed.  The Crown Prince of Bahrain made the final decision yesterday, due to days of civil unrest within the country, which has engulfed the Gulf Kingdom.  Six people have died and protests in the capital Manama, where the race is staged meant that the safety and security of the F1 fraternity could not be guaranteed. 

The Hermann Tilke track, which cost £92million to construct, was due to stage the curtain raiser for the new Grand Prix season on March 13.  The Bahrain Royal Family had to pay nearly £40million to stage the event, some of that as part of beginning the F1 show in 2011. 

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Bahrain bought Formula One to the Middle East for the first time in 2004, and has staged seven successful races on the Sakhir circuit.  It staged the curtain raiser when Australia was hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and did so again last season.  The race, won by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was sorely criticised by team personnel, pundits and fans for its lack of action and overtaking opportunities.  A new layout for 2010 had failed to deliver, and the organisers had decided to return to the original, shorter track.  Alas, we may never know now how it would have developed.

“We are a little bit disappointed that it has been postponed, but when you look at what is going on in that part of the world, I think it’s the only thing that could be done.”  Bernie Ecclestone said, when speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.  The Crown Prince, who owns the rights to the event said that ‘the country needs to focus on national interests first and foremost and leave the event to a later date.’  That remains unclear whether it will happen yet.  Ecclestone is adamant that he wants the race in Bahrain to be held around the time of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.  However, with the championship already pencilled in to finish as late as November 27 in Brazil, it is unlikely that FOTA will allow the head of F1 to schedule three races together at the end of the tiresome year on three consecutive weekends.

The Formula One teams and drivers are busy testing ahead of the new season, which will now start at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix on March 27.  Speaking to journalists in Barcelona, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa backs the decision to postpone the race for now; “The human side of life is more important than the professional side of life and what has happened in Bahrain is serious.  I hope everything will return to normal soon.”  Michael Schumacher also backed the decision; “I consider it to be a good decision to call off the competition in Bahrain, these people have more pressing issues to deal with than Formula One at the moment.”

The Middle East continues to expand and grow in the sporting world, but whilst the turbulence continues in places such as Libya, Tunisia and Bahrain, the postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix comes as little surprise to many.  Whether it still has a place on the F1 calendar in future remains to be seen.